Clothes-clamping machine for laundry use



Patented Mar. 22, 1921.

APPLICATION HLED JULY 6.1920.

o//VENT RS If 6% A TTORNE Y B. A. METCALF AND C. E. HUTCHINGS. CLOTHES CLAMPING MACHINE FOR LAUNDRY USE. APPLICATION FILED JULY 6,1920.

1,372,183. Patented Mar. 22, 1921.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

' INVENTORS UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE,

GLOIHES-CLAMPING MACHINE FOR LAUNDRY USE.

Specification of Letters Patent. Patented llItl. 22, 1921.

Application filed July 6, 1920. Serial No. 394,338.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that we BENJAMIN A. MET- OALF and CHARLES E. I-l UToHINcsmitizens of the United States of America, residing at the city and county of Denver and State of Colorado, have invented a new and useful Clothes-Clamping Machine for Laundry Use, of which the following is a specification.

Our machine relates to an improved type of laundry clothes clamping machine.

And. the objects of our invention are:

First. To provide a laundry clothes clamping machine that is provided with a flexible, clothes gripping jaw, that is normally held closed.

Second. To provide a laundry clothes clamping machine that will hold numerous articles at a time, and at which an operator can work equally as fast sitting or standing.

Third. To provide a laundry clothes clamping machine that is provided with a flexible jaw that is held in clothes gripping position by a plurality of fingers, each of which is mounted and held under an adjustable resilient tension, and is positioned at predetermined distances apart along the length of the jaw.

o attain these objects by the mechanism illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure l is a plan View of the improved clothes clamping machine for laundry use.

Fig. 2 is a side view of the machine, showing the same secured to a table in a manner to be operated by a foot lever.

Fig. 3 is afront view thereof.

Fig. l is a sectional view-enlarged-on the line 4l--4l of Fig. 1.

Fig. 5 is a sectional "view on the line 5-5 of Fig. 1, and

Fig. 6 is a diagram, illustrating how the movable jaw is arched when a number of articles of varying width are clamped, the pile being of greater thickness in the center than at the sides.

Similar letters of reference refer to simila r parts throughout the several views.

Referring to the drawings:

The numeral 1, designates a table, or it may represent a bench or a shelf. In either case it acts as a support for our laundry clothes clamping machine, which is secured to the top of the table, and which consists of a rectangular shaped base plate 2, that is preferably a wooden board, although it may be piade of metal or any other suitable materia Along the front edge portion of this base plate we secure a thick strip of soft rubber, which forms the fixed jaw 4, of our clothes clamping machine. ,VVe preferably, however, cement the strip of soft rubber to a piece of rubber belting or cloth inserted rubber packing 5, or other suitable material, and secure the strip of belting or packing to the top of the base plate by any suitable means. The rubber belting or packing strip is not absolutely essential, however, and may be dispensed with if desired.

A movable flexible jaw 6, is placed exactly over the top of the fixed jaw and normally is held resiliently against it that is, when not gripping clothes between it and the fixed jaw, and the resilient means auto matically holds the movable flexible jaw down against the clothes when they are placed on the fixed jaw, without any attention on the part of the attendant, as will be fully explained hereinafter.

At a short distance back from the jaws three shaft supporting bearing blocks 8, are secured to the base plate 2, at equal distances apart throughout the length of the base plate, which may be made two or three or more feet in length, and the jaws extend nearly the whole length of the base plate. Three of these bearings are illustrated, but more may be used if desired.

The articles that are most generally gripped between the jaws are handkerchiefs and napkins, although much larger articles may be gripped in machines made long enough to receive them. Our machine is used to grip all articles at one of their edges for the purpose of stretching them out straight and smooth after they have been washed, so as to be in a flat, unwrinkled condition ready to be ironed.

A shaft 9, is rotatively mounted in these bearings 8, and at the side of each bearing there is a movable jaw-lifting .finger 10, which extends to and is loosely secured by bolts 11, andnuts 12, to a metal strip 13, that forms the top supporting member of the movable flexible jaw 6.

This movable flexible jaw consists of the thin metal top strip 13, and a strip of rubber belting, cloth inserted rubber packing, or similar material 14, that is bolted to it metal strip 13, of the movable flexible jaw,

by the bolts 11.

7 All of these movable flexible jaw lifting fingers are loose on the shaft 9, except the middle fin er, which has a rearwardly and upwardly projecting lever portion 19, which we will call the lever finger 10-49. This middle lever finger 10, and its lever extension 19, are secured to the shaft 9, by any suitable means, but preferably by a set screw 20, upon which a jam nut 21, is

threaded to lockit in its set position against working loose.

The two outside fingers are lifted by dogs 22, that are secured to the shaft by a set screw 23, and on which a jam nut is mounted. These dogs engage a pin or lug 2 1-, that projects from the side of each finger over the top'of each dog. Consequently the 'movable flexible aw is lifted by the middle finger and the two outside fingers, by the lever portion 19, of the middle finger, as will be presently described, and the two intermediate fingers are lifted by the movable flexible jaw against their springs 25.

All of the fingers, however, are provided with springs 25, that hold them under resilient pressure with the movable flexible jaw against the fixed jaw. These springs are all alike and each is made and arranged as follows 2" The lower edge of each finger is provided with a depending lug 26, through which a screw 27, extends loosely to one end of the 'coiled'spring 25, where the end of the coiled spring is secured to it by a metal plug 29, threaded to correspond to the coils of the spring, screwed into the end of the spring 25,

which plug has a threaded hole in its center, in which is threaded the end of the screw. thusaifording means for adjusting the tension of the spring by turning the screw.

nut 30, is threaded on the screw and is turned tightly against the plug in the end of the spring to lock the screw in set positions against accidental displacement, and the head of the screw bears against the outside of the lugs of each finger.

These coiled springs are each several inches in length and extend to the back edge .portionof the base plate 2, and their opposite ends are each provided with a loop 33,

that is placed over the head of a screw 341-,

that is threaded into the base plate 2, or if on the movable flexible jaw, and thus they hold the movable flexible jaw normally down against the fixed jaw, with a uniform downwardly pressing resilient tension throughout the whole length of the movable and flexible article clamping aw.

The outer end of the finger lever lt)l$l, of the middle finger 10, is provided with :1 hole 35, to which one end of a chain 2-56, is secured, and the opposite end of the chain extends down to and connects to one end of a foot pedal 38, the opposite end ol which is pivotally hinged to a hinge plate -11), that is secured to the floor.

The operation of our laundry (lollies clai'nping machine is as follows:

An attendant sits or stands at the center of the machine. and having picked up a handkerchief or other article, as it comes from the wash, straightens out one side or end edge of it, and then placing .1 foot on the pedal, bears down on it, which pulls the chain and the end of the lever 19 down. and causes the shaft 9 and the middle finger and the two end dogs 22. that are secured to it, to turn in the shafts bearings. and in its turning movement the middle linger lifts the center of the movable flexible jaw. and the dogs lift the two opposite end fingers. the dogs being so positioned on the shaft that they do not lift the two end fingers until the center of the flexible movable ja has been lifted a little distance. preferably about a quarter of an inch for the handkerchief and napkin size of machine, but the amount of the first center lifting part of the jaw opening movement of the movable flexible jaw may be varied in machines of different sizes and for special articles. Then the attendant inserts the edge of the article between the jaws and on the fixed jaw and then removes the foot from the pedal, allowing the movable flexible jaw to spring down and grip the article against the fixed jaw. The attendant then stretches out the article smoothly throughout its length and breadth, and then lets go of the article. allowing it to lie flat on the table, the machine being set far enough back from the edge of the table so that the article is supported by the table. and its edge remains over the fixed jaw when the movable flexible jaw is lifted to receive another article. The movable flexible jaw is again lifted, another article placed on top of the first. with its edge or end extending over the fixed jaw, the movable flexible aw is allowed to spring down, and the article then stretched out. This process is repeated and continued until all of the articles belonging to one person, or constituting one lot, have been stretched ill) points across the jaw, and each article would not be gripped securely across its entire width while being stretched, but for the flexible movable jaw, which is pressed downward by the several fingers, at several points, each finger being actuated by a separate spring, causing the flexible movable jaw to,

grip securely all of the articles, however uneven the thickness of the pile at various points along the length of the jaw. The pile of articles will naturally become thickest nea the center, and thinnest toward the two sides. The position of the lifting dogs on the shaft (above mentioned) allows the two ends of the flexible movable jaw to be pressed downward farther than the center can be pressed down (because the pile is thickest near the center) and causes the flexible movable jaw to grip securely all of the articles for their entire width, including both sides, where the pile is thinnest. This secure gripping of the pile of uneven thickness is aided by the soft rubber strips on both jaws.

The flexible movable jaw,gripping securely a pile of articles of uneven thickness, makes it possible to let the pile of articles accumulate between the jaws until all of one lot have been stretched, and enables the work to be done very much faster than it could possibly be done, were it necessary to remove each article from the machine after stretching, before inserting another article, and

therefore constitutes an important feature of our invention.

Inasmuch as the two intermediate fingers 10, are loose on the shaft, they do not assist in lifting the movable flexible jaw, but they are lifted by the movable flexible jaw as the middle finger and the two outside fingers raise it. These two loosely mounted fingers do, however, exert a resilient downward pressure on the movable flexible jaw, that holds that portion of the movable flexible that is under them and immediately adjacent to them, uniformly against the fixed The raising of the movable flexible jaw is done very quickly and easily, and the closing of it on articles to grip them between it and the fixed jaw is practically instantaneous. as it is done by the pull of the springs on all of the fingers, which forces them against the top metal strip of the movable flexible jaw, and consequently they force the movable flexible aw constantly down against the fixed jaw, except when it is lifted by the attendant.

Our invention is simple, inexpensive to make, and is thoroughly practical, and while we have illustrated the preferred construction of it, we do not wish to be limited to it, as changes may be made without departing from the spirit of our invention.

Having described our invention, what we claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is:

1. In a laundry clothes clamping machine, the combination of a base plate, a fixed jaw on one edge of said base plate, and a flexible, yielding, movable jaw; with means including a plurality of fingers and a group of rearwardly extending contraction springs for normally holding said flexible jaw under resilient pressure against said fixed aw, and means including a rearwardly extending lever on one of said fingers for raising said movable flexible jaw.

2. In a laundry clothes clamping machine, the combination of a base plate, a fixed jaw on one edge of said base plate, and a flexible, yielding movable jaw; with means including a plurality of fingers and a group of rearwardly extending contraction springs for normally holding said flexible jaw under resilient pressure against said fixed aw, and means including i a rearwardly extending lever on one of said fingers for raising said movable jaw, said jaws being both provided with soft flat rubber strips, and said flexible jaw being longitudinally flexible to grip one or several articles of varying thicknesses throughout its or their width, a shaft journaled in bearings and arranged to support the rear ends of said fingers, said lever fingers being secured to said shaft, dogs secured to the opposite ends of said shaft, projections on the sides of the two fingers at the opposite ends of, said shaft and extending over and into the path of said dogs, and arranged to be lifted by said dogs when said shaft is turned by said lever finger, said dog lifted fingers being loosely mounted on said shaft, intermediate fingers loosely mounted on said shaft.

3. In a laundry clothes clamping machine, the combination of a base plate, a fixed jaw on one edge of said base plate, and a flexible yielding, movable jaw; a shaft, a plurality of fingers mounted on said shaft for raising said movable jaw, means for normally holding said flexible jaw under resilient pressure against said fixed jaw, a lever for turning said shaft to lift said fingers and thereby raise said flexible jaw, said jaws being provided with strips of elastic material, dogs on said shaft, projections on two of the fingers adapted to be lifted by said dogs when said shaft is turned by said lever, said dog-lifted fingers being loosely mounted on said shaft, intermediate fingers loosely mounted on said shaft, all of said fingers being removably secured to said flexible movable jaw, a depending lug on the undershaft, springs for normally holding 'fiexlble jaw in resilient contact w1th side of each finger, a screw extending loosely through sald lug, and a coiled spring connected to said screw and to said base plate, whereby said flexible jaw is normally held under constant against said fixed aw.

at. In a laundry clothes clamping machine, the combination of a table and the clothes edge clamping mechanism, comprising a base plate secured to said table, a fixed jaw and a movable flexible jaw, means resilient pressure including adjustable tension springs for normally holding said flexible aw in resihent contact with sald fixed aw; with means'for fixed aw, a treadle, a flexible member connecting the same with said lever, whereby said arms are operated to raise said flexible jaw, saidflexible jaw being capable of yielding at points to accommodate *arying thicknesses in the numbers of articles clamped thereby, said arms being arranged to lift the central portion of said movable, flexible jaw, and afterward, its opposite end portions, 1

6.1n a laundry clothes clamping machine, the combination of a table, a base plate, and a fixed jaw, with a movable, flexible jaw, means for'raising and supporting the center portion of the movable, flexible aw, and afterward, its opposite end portions, and adjustable resilient means for closing and holding said movable, flexible jaw closed against said fixed jaw.

77; In a machine of the character described, a base plate adapted-to be secured oneach side of the central arm, the rear ends of whichare loosely mounted on said shaft, a fixed clamp on said base plate, a

flexible clamp secured to the ends of said arms, springs secured to said base plate and said arms, whereby the flexible clamp is normally pressed against the fixed clamp, projections on the two outer arms, and dogs rigidly mounted on the shaft for engaging said projections, a foot lever, and a flexible connection secured to said foot lever and to the free end of the middle arm, whereby the same may be rocked to lift the flexible clamp.

S. In a machine of the character described, a base, a shaft mounted thereon, a lever arm rigidly mounted intermediate of its length on said shaft, arms on each side of said lever arm, the rear ends of which are loosely mounted on said shaft, :1 llcxible clamping strip secured to the outer ends of said arms, a cooperating clamping strip secured to the base, coil springs secured to said arms and to said base, whereby the upper clamping strip is normally held upon the lower strip, dogs rigidly secured upon the shaft adjoining the two outer arms, and projections on said latter arms above said dogs; means for rocking said lever arm to turn said shaft and lift the upper clamping strip, said dogs being adapted to engage said projections after the shaft has been partially turned. whereby the central portion of the upper clamping strip is raised before the end portions thereof are raised.

9. In a machine of the charzuter decribed, a table, a fixed clamp member thereon. a coiiperating flexible clamp member, a sh; a lever rigidly mounted thereon and connected with the central portion of said flexible clamp member, arms loosely mounted on said shaft and connected to the end xirtions of said flexible clamp member. means operated by the shaft for lifting said loosely mounted arms to raise the end portions of said flexible clamp member after the central portion has been raised, and resilient means for normally holding said flexible clamp member in a closed position with respect to the fixed clamp member.

In testimony whereof we allix our signatures in presence of two witnesses.

BENJAMIN A. METCALF. CHARLES E. HUTCHINGS. litnesses G. SAnonN'r Ennrorr,

ELIZABETH SMITH. 

